Page 2 of Tell No Lies

“I’m trying. This is a huge client, and if all goes well, this could put us on the map as a top programming company. I’m just sorry I can’t be there for you more.”

“Don’t worry about it. I have plenty of people watching out for me. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too. Bye.”

I hung up with a sigh. How was I going to get the guys to leave if they knew Brandon might not make it home for a long time?

I snuck back out to the living area and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to me. The guys had their eyes glued to the movie, and Mckayla and Talia were painting their toenails. Alexis was in the kitchen with her head in the fridge.

I tiptoed over to her and tapped her shoulder. She gasped, almost dropping the water bottle she was drinking from. Her hand flew to her chest as she took a deep breath. “You scared me!”

I couldn’t help but giggle at her reaction. “I was being sneaky. I didn’t know I was such a good ninja.” I winked and moved past her to grab a water for myself. “I need your help.”

An arched eyebrow punctuated her suspicious gaze. “With what?” She set down her bottle and pulled her long brown hair into a loose ponytail. She was ready to get down to business.

“Brandon just called and told me he won’t be home tonight. He wants someone to stay with me, but I have to make sure the guys leave.”

“You want them to leave without Brandon being here? Good luck. Mike is not going to go for that.”

I nodded. “I know. Hence why I need your help.”

She threw her head back and groaned. “Either we tell them you’re having a feminine emergency, or we threaten to have security escort them out.”

“What? Those are your options? What does a feminine emergency even mean?”

She shrugged like it was obvious. “Guys always freak out and leave when you mention that stuff.”

This was one of the reasons I loved her. She was always carefree and didn’t concern herself with what other people thought of her. She was willing to make a fool out of herself for her friends.

“I don’t think it would work this time. Mike would probably volunteer to go buy whatever I needed. We need something better.” I glanced over at Talia and Mckayla, willing them to look at me.

Mckayla was a mind reader, apparently. She caught my look and turned her head. As she stood up, she nudged Talia, and they made their way through the bodies on the floor.

“What’s going on over here?” Mckayla asked. “You guys look suspicious.”

“Brandon isn’t going to make it home, so I was wondering if any of you can stay. And we need to get the guys to leave eventually.”

Mckayla chuckled. “Like Mike would ever agree to that.”

“I know. He’s going to go all alpha male and refuse to leave. That’s why I need some help.”

Talia held up a hand to stop us. “Let me handle this.”

We watched as she marched into the living room, grabbed the remote, and paused the movie. She didn’t need to do that to get the guys’ attention; she was a bombshell with her long blond hair and curves. But her confidence was the thing that stood out the most about her. She could get any group to listen to her, and she never shied away from the attention. I could picture her being a famous leader of sorts one day.

“Listen up, boys. We’re getting tired, and we all have school tomorrow, so you have until ten-thirty to leave, or we’re painting your nails. Got it?”

To my surprise, the majority of the boys groaned but agreed. A few even stood and waved as they left. I guess the threat of painted nails was not something to test.

She came back, and we started cleaning up the mess in the kitchen. By the time we finished, it was curfew and the remaining boys were starting to stir and putting the pillows and blankets back where they belonged. It had taken a few tries, but we’d finally gotten them trained to clean up before they left.

A stream of guys waved or said goodbye on their way out the door.

Mike stopped and looked me in the eye. “Where’s Brandon?”

I hated it when he did that. As if he was looking into my soul, making it impossible to even think of lying. “He’ll be home later. The girls are staying with me tonight.”